


Empty Frames

by evil_moo_bunny



Category: Sacred Band
Genre: Deosil is the Best, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gaustinel, I Just Really Want Them To Be Happy, I Say Angst But It's Mostly Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, These Two Sure Talk A Lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 12:50:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15219515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evil_moo_bunny/pseuds/evil_moo_bunny
Summary: Mitch and Rusty knew when they became a couple it wasn't going to be an easy road, but sometimes all it takes is a small reminder of what they're facing to make them feel like falling apart.  It would be easier if they actually thought they deserved each other.  Thankfully Deosil's there to keep them on track, and everyone wants these two to have a happy ending.





	Empty Frames

**Author's Note:**

> The events of this fic take place after Coming Home but before Grief Drinking. The whole scenario came to me and wouldn't let me go. I just really wanted to explore these two being happy and domestic while also coping with some of the issues their budding relationship is going to face.

It all started when Rusty found what would become known as The Picture. 

Mitch had asked him to find something from a box in his closet, some small tool for the home repairs they had been working on. Rusty found it charming that Mitch insisted on doing much of the repairs by hand. Sure, it would have been much faster if they used their powers, but the older man seemed to be so genuinely happy to do things the old fashioned way that Rusty couldn’t bring himself to make much of a fuss. Besides, Mitch also seemed to enjoy teaching Rusty (and whoever else happened to be in earshot) how to do whatever skill was needed to complete the task at hand, and people seemed to do their best to learn it. Rusty and Deosil had once spent an afternoon discussing whether or not this was some form of benign yet undocumented power the man had before deciding that no, he was just so charismatic and earnest about passing on knowledge that those around him couldn’t help but get swept up in what he was talking about. 

So Rusty found himself shuffling boxes around trying to find the one that housed the extra measuring tape that Mitch needed when something fluttered to the ground. It had been placed between two of the boxes, carefully enough so that it wouldn’t be damaged but in a way that suggested that whoever had put it there had done so quickly. Rusty bent down and picked it up, intending to simply place it back where it had escaped from, when he caught sight of what it was. Without realizing what he was doing, he found himself staring at it, trembling slightly, unsure if he should place it quickly back and not mention it again or if he should bring it to Mitch’s attention. Whatever actions he intended to take were ultimately irrelevant since all he could seem to manage was to stare at the picture until he heard Mitch enter the room. 

“Did you find it-” he started to say, but stopped short as Rusty raised his head and met his eyes with a dazed look on his face. He was instantly concerned, opening his mouth to ask what was wrong when the redhead wordlessly handed his accidently discovery over. Mitch took it, his eyes not leaving Rusty’s face, trying to figure out the play of emotions he saw there. When the former Champion finally looked down at what he was holding in his hands he reacted almost like he had been punched in the gut. In a very real way, it felt like he had.

He was holding a picture. It was of two men, backs turned to the camera but looking at each other, faces clearly visible in profile. On the left was Sentinel, carrying an armful of building supplies. Walking next to him was Radiant, carrying bags of what appeared to be clothes. They were both in their Champions outfits and appeared to be working on clean-up/rebuilding efforts after one the Echo Events, though things had settled enough for the sun to be shining brightly and no one appeared to be in immediate danger. A cursory glance would make it seem to be a simple picture of two teammates working side by side and enjoying each other’s company even if the work was hard. But a closer look, or a more understanding one, revealed a slightly different story. Radiant’s whole attention was on Sentinel, his smile living up to his name. Sentinel was smiling in return, a look of unreserved joy on his face as he looked at the other man. These were the kind of smiles that can only be caught on camera if the people being photographed are unaware of the fact, the two men looking at each other as if they were the only ones in the whole world. Or, Rusty as said later, as if the other was the whole world. Even though there was plenty of space between them it was a picture of two people who loved each other very much and were caught in an unguarded moment of expressing it. 

Mitch stared at picture, and Rusty stared at the floor, and for a moment neither of them spoke.

“Alchemy took this picture,” Mitch said at last, with a slight tremor in it that betrayed the depth of emotion he was feeling. “This was the only copy he had printed and he only ever showed Craig and I. He never said that he knew what was going on but maybe...maybe he knew. On some level, at least.” Rusty nodded, still not saying anything nor looking directly at Mitch. Silence filled the space between them as the moment stretched on. It was the silence that fell between two people who had too much to say to each other but lacked the ability to actually speak; it felt like an almost palpable weight between them. 

Rusty finally looked up, still not quite meeting Mitch’s eyes. 

“I didn’t mean to snoop,” he said softly. “It just fell when I was moving some boxes around.” Mitch moved closer to the young man, reaching out one hand and resting it lightly on his shoulder. Rusty leaned into the touch, though he did not return it.

“It’s okay,” he replied. “It’s my fault for leaving it somewhere like that and not remembering about it when I asked you to help me find something.”

“It’s a good picture,” said Rusty. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that.” His voice broke as he finished the sentence and Mitch found himself wrapping his arms around the redhead before his brain had finished processing it as an idea. There were a million things he wanted to say, but all he could manage was to whisper out “Oh Rusty” as he buried his face in his boyfriend’s hair. Rusty almost collapsed into the hug, allowing himself a moment there before pulling away. He wrapped his fingers around the other man’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s not your fault. I just need to go for a walk. Get some fresh air.” Before Mitch could think of a response, Rusty had given him a soft kiss on the forehead and left the room. Mitch stood there as the sounds of the man he was falling in love with exited the house and vanished down the road. He stood alone in the room for a long time, and when he finally began to move he was only mildly surprised to learn he’d been crying. 

***

Mitch heard Deosil coming, and had a sandwich prepared for her by the time she came in the door. 

“Hey!” She grinned. “Oooo, food. This is the best part about training with you Mitch, you know exactly how I like my sandwiches.” Mitch smiled wanly and her, and Deosil grin faded as she narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Where’s Rusty?” She asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

“He went for a walk,” Mitch replied. He sounded downright morose, and Deosil sighed heavily. 

“What happened? Do I need to kick someone’s ass? Because while I’m supposed to be spending my energy on training I’m more than willing to do what’s necessary if one or both of you are being idiots.” Mitch raised an eyebrow and almost appeared to smile. Without explanation he handed the picture to her, and she studied it for a moment before setting it down on the table and rubbing her face.

“Oof,” she said. Mitch laughed without humor.

“I’d say that sums it up.” 

“So what, did he see the picture and storm out in a fit of jealousy? Because I love the boy but he can be a tad melodramatic. Not that he’s the only one,” she said with a pointed look. That got another almost smile from the man in front of her.

“Not quite. He found the picture and got all quiet before saying that he needed to go for a walk. I’d almost prefer he stormed off because that would give me something to work with. I’m not used to him not saying what’s going on in his head.”

“Our boy does tend to be an open book, that’s for sure,” she agreed. “Look, we knew this was going to happen. Rusty loves you and I’m sure he knows you feel the same, but unless I miss my mark you’ve had this conversation but haven’t really faced the reality of it since you two went official. Rusty’s got a lot of his own shit to unpack when it comes to feeling needed, and that was going to be true even if you didn’t have a tragic romance in your past. No relationship is ever smooth sailing all the time, and you’re both starting this particular voyage with extra baggage.” Mitch sighed and looked out the window.

“It’s just been so right being with him. _He’s_ been so right, every step of the way. Understanding, letting me set the boundaries, and respecting them every step of the way. And maybe I haven’t told him enough, or done enough to let him know how much I appreciate it.” He crossed his arms across his chest, almost as if he was trying to physically contain all the emotions he was feeling. Deosil got up and stood before him, putting one hand on his cheek and gently turning his head to face her.

“Self pity isn’t a good look for you, I gotta say,” she said. Mitch’s opened his mouth to protest, but Deosil kept going first. “How about instead of beating yourself up over something that you can’t change now, you come back out and help me train for a bit? Give yourself something to focus on besides your perceived and pretty much completely made-up failings.” Mitch looked like he was going to say something in his defence, but instead just chuckled slightly and wrapped his arms around her.

“Thank you,” he said. “Now let’s get out there and you can show me what you’ve been doing instead of helping me around the house.” She laughed. 

“You’re going to have to let me eat this sandwich first, or you might have a real fight on your hands.”

***

Deosil and Mitch had been training for an hour or so when he stopped and cocked his head back toward the house. 

“I think he’s back,” he said. He raised an eyebrow in an unasked question and the woman made a shooing motion with one hand. 

“Go,” she said. “I’ll train out here a little longer. Come and get me when it safe to come back. I’d hate to walk in on you two in the throes of passion. Again.” She laughed at the horrified look on his face and turned her back to him. Mitch got the hint that he was being told to get moving without delay and took off toward the cabin. When he walked in the door he heard movement in the bedroom, and managed to walk at was almost a calm pace instead of racing toward Rusty as fast as he could. He wasn’t sure bursting into the room in a flurry of emotion was exactly what was needed right now.

Rusty had his back to him when Mitch entered, doing something on the opposite wall. He stopped and turned when he heard him enter. He smiled and walked toward him, meeting him just about halfway across the room. They stood close but stopped just short of getting too far into the other’s space. 

“Hey,” Rusty said with a smile. The smile was shy, embarrassed but genuine. Mitch reached out and cupped one cheek in his hand and loved the hum of approval he got from the younger man. 

“I’m glad you’re back,” he said softly, trying and failing to keep the relief out of his voice.

“I’m sorry I left,” Rusty responded. “It’s just. It’s just me, I suppose. I keep telling myself I don’t have jealousy issues, that I’m just insecure sometimes. But what is jealousy but weaponized insecurity? And I thought that since I knew what I was getting into it would be easier, and after the terrible things that happened with Radiant’s body I could handle it better. You even warned me plenty of times what to expect. But then I saw the picture and...I don’t know, it all caught up with me. And I should have stayed to talk about it, I know that, but you’ve been through so much that it didn’t seem fair to put you through that too.” He said this in a rush, barely pausing to breathe. His eyes were shiny with tears that finally started to fall after he finished. He seemed surprised when Mitch gently grabbed his hand and brought it to the side of own neck, pressing Rusty’s middle and ring finger into the pulse point right below his jawline. He rested his other hand on the redhead’s hip. 

“If you are okay with it,” he said quietly, “I’d very much appreciate it if you would kiss me.” Rusty’s eyes widened and he paused for a moment as if making sure he heard right. It didn’t take him long before he learned in, soft and unsure at first but gaining confidence as the kiss was returned. There wasn’t heat behind this kiss, though Mitch suspected there easily could have been if either of them had an inclination. It was the kind of kiss that stood on its own, a way to communicate how two people felt about each other when words didn’t seem to cover it. Being an Original, Mitch could have controlled his heart rate as Rusty pressed himself further into the kiss. Instead, he let his heart skip a beat when the younger man wrapped his free arm around Mitch’s waist, let it quicken as he pressed a hand into the small of the older man’s back in an attempt to get them even closer together.

When the kiss ended, Rusty looked once again dazed but in a way Mitch much preferred.

“You don’t have to apologize,” the former Champion said. “You’re handling this better than anyone could rightfully expect you to. In a lot of ways, you’re handling it better than I am. Being with you feels so easy that’s it hard for me to remember how much work this takes. I know that I can show you how much you affect me in a lot of very interesting ways,” (and here Rusty actually blushed,) “but I need to show you how much you affect my heart as well. I’m sorry I haven’t been doing a good enough job of that.” 

Rusty sniffled and began to cry again, putting his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. They stayed like that for a long moment, holding each other close, before Mitch noticed a new addition to the wall where Rusty had been working. 

“What’s that?” He asked, and the redhead looked up and blushed in a way that Mitch felt was far too adorable to be allowed. 

“Well,” Rusty said, pulling away slightly. “They’re. Um. Picture frames.” Mitch raised an eyebrow. 

“I can see that.” And despite the nonchalant way he responded to the younger man, he could feel his eyes welling up with tears. There were two picture frames on the wall, similar enough to match each other but different enough to be easily told apart. One held the picture of him and Craig, the other was empty. He looked to Rusty for further explanation, and if it was possible the other man blushed an even darker red. 

“I wanted to let you know that despite my own issues, I don’t want you to ever feel like you have to downplay or ignore what happened between you and Radiant. You already had to do too much of that and it would be beyond awful if I made you feel like you had to keep doing it even now. That picture is beautiful and you already had to keep it hidden for way too long. It was time for it to get some proper treatment.” 

Mitch stared at him, awestruck. 

“You are incredible,” he finally managed to say, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Are you going to be okay with it here in the bedroom with us? I could put it in the hall, or somewhere else where you don’t have to see it all the time.”

“Well, I thought about hanging it in the closet,” Rusty said with a smile, and laughed as the older man pushed his shoulder in response. “But in reality, no, don’t move it. I decided to hang it there because it should be in a place where you can look at it whenever you want. I...I hope that’s okay?”

“Oh Rusty, it is more than okay,” Mitch responded, and pulled him in for another kiss. When they broke apart, the older man rested his forehead on the redhead’s.

“I can’t lie,” Mitch whispered. “I won’t be able to love anyone like I loved Craig. Even if I wanted to, it would be impossible. We loved each other because of who we were at the time, and I’m no longer the man I was in that photograph.” Rusty trembled slightly and Mitch kissed his forehead, before cupping his chin and bringing it up to meet his eyes. He wasn’t surprised to see they were both crying. “All I can do is love you as I am now and hope that will be enough, even if it’s never as much as you deserve.” Rusty choked back a sob and pulled him in close and they clung to each other as if nothing outside them existed. 

“You’re more than I could have ever hoped for,” the redhead finally managed to get out. “Please don’t ever worry that you aren’t enough. I can’t even understand the concept.” 

Mitch was at a complete loss on how to respond to that. He knew he had to, Rusty certainly deserved one, but for the life of him he was so overtaken by his boyfriend’s words that he couldn’t find any of his own. He simply gazed in wonder at the other man and hoped his expression conveyed at least a fraction of what he was feeling. Rusty, for his part, seemed happy to stare back at him in the same kind of awe. There was something Mitch was missing though, some question that needed to be asked, and finally it came to him.

“What’s the other frame for?” He asked. Rusty’s blush returned with full force.

“It seems silly now,” he responded. “Or like I’m still just super jealous. But I thought that one day someone might take a picture of us that we wanted to put in there. I don’t know, putting the empty frame up seemed like saying that while we can’t know the future, hopefully it contains the two of us together.” Rusty was looking at the floor in embarrassment. “That’s so cheesy. You can take it down if you want. Empty picture frames don’t match the decor.” 

“It’s _perfect_ ,” Mitch said, and Rusty’s eyes met his with a look that could best be described as hopeful shock. “It’s the best gift that anyone’s ever given me,” and he hoped it poured enough emotion into the words for the redhead to really understand just how much the simple frame meant to him. In case words didn’t do the trick, he pulled Rusty into another kiss. It started off slow and sweet as the two men simply enjoyed the experience of being together but it didn’t take long before it began to change, building into something more. The subtle yet insistent press of one body against another, the slight scrape of teeth against lips, the way hands began to find their way to the bare skin under a shirt. Rusty pulled away slightly, grinning. 

“I take it you like it,” he said. 

“Oh yes,” replied Mitch. “I’m very... _appreciative_.” The emphasis on the final word was practically growled out as the older man did very interesting things to Rusty’s neck. 

“You want to show me how appreciative you are?” Rusty managed to tease, even as a low moan escaped his lips. Mitch grinned and picked up the other man, kissing him soundly as he carried him the short distance to the bed.

Mitch made sure to take plenty of time to show Rusty how much he appreciated the gift (and more so the thought behind it), and Rusty was set on making sure that the older man was well appreciated in turn. It took most of the evening, but ultimately both of them seemed to get the idea. (They were only mildly embarrassed when they found Deosil in the kitchen afterwards, claiming she was tired of waiting and figured they’d want a meal after all that exercise.) 

Eventually they did up having the perfect picture to hang in the empty frame, but that’s a different story.


End file.
